Starbucks Reserve is a program by the international coffeehouse chain Starbucks. The program involves operation of worldwide roasteries; currently six are in operation. Also part of the program are 28 coffee bars preparing Starbucks Reserve products, what Starbucks considers its rarest and best-quality coffees, usually single-origin coffees. Some Starbucks Reserve coffee is also sold in about 1,500 of the chain's traditional outlets.
History
The program began as Starbucks desired to compete in the high-end coffee market, competing against premium coffee retailers like Stumptown Coffee Roasters, Dillanos Coffee Roasters and Blue Bottle Coffee.
Starbucks began its Starbucks Reserve program in 2010 through online sales and a small number of its retail locations, selling small-batch arabica coffees. Later, the company opened its first Reserve location, a three-story store in Latin America, solely selling Colombian coffee. The first Starbucks Reserve roastery opened in December 2014 in Seattle.
Types
Starbucks Reserve includes three different types of locations: the "Starbucks Reserve Roastery", the "Reserve Bar", and the "Reserve Store". The roasteries, usually tens of thousands of square feet (thousands of square meters), are often described as a theme park experience, including coffee bars with tastings, cocktail bars, areas to observe the roasting and brewing processes, areas to purchase food, and local artwork throughout. The facilities also roast, package, and ship coffee to stores in their regions.
The company currently operates a total of six roasteries, in Seattle (opened 2014), Shanghai (2017), Milan (2018), New York City (2018), Tokyo (2019), and Chicago (2019). The company initially planned to open at least 20 roasteries, though it announced in 2019 that it would be scaling back its plans, with Chicago being the last roastery to be built at the moment.
Reserve Bars are traditional Starbucks locations that sell some Starbucks Reserve products, supplied by a regional roastery. There are 43 locations, all of which include the regular Starbucks menu, and also have a coffee bar for a similar experience to the coffee bars in the roasteries.
There are currently approximately four Reserve Stores in operation, with one located in Starbucks' headquarters, Starbucks Center, in Seattle. Other stores are located in New York, Mumbai, and Shanghai. These stores sell merchandise, food and drink such as Reserve Coffee, Princi food items, and locally-unique merchandise similar to that of the roasteries.
Roasteries
Seattle
The first Starbucks Reserve roastery opened in December 2014 in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Seattle. It has and is rumored to have cost about $20 million. The roastery includes a split-flap display, a departure board style common in 20th century railway stations. The board was created by Solari di Udine and displays the coffees being roasted.
Shanghai
The roastery in Shanghai, China, is located in the HKRI Taikoo Hui mixed-use development, on the luxury shopping strip Nanjing Road. It opened in December 2017 and was the largest Starbucks location in the world at that time, since surpassed by the Chicago roastery. The Shanghai roastery has between two stories. It is typically fully packed with customers, with lines out the door typical in peak times.